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1.91k reviews for:
La Caída de Los Gigantes (the Century 1) / Fall of Giants (the Century, Book 1)
Ken Follett
4.19 AVERAGE
1.91k reviews for:
La Caída de Los Gigantes (the Century 1) / Fall of Giants (the Century, Book 1)
Ken Follett
4.19 AVERAGE
I enjoyed this book. I enjoy historical fiction and World War 1 history. The length of it looses a star for me. The build up to the war and some of the wartime chapters definitely could have been condensed, but I enjoyed keeping up with the characters. Closer to 3.5 stars
I love how Ken Follett can tell multiple stories about multiple characters in multiple countries...and I was still able to hang on. Great history lessons here too. WWI from a European perspective that I would probably never have been exposed to otherwise.
Amazing book that expertly weaves together fiction and non-fiction. Grasped my attention in the first couple pages and kept me intrigued through the end. Can't wait for book 2 to come out!!
4.5 stars for me - I loved so many of the characters and it kept me engaged for the majority of the 30+ hours I listened to it!!
Immediately bought the second in the series
Immediately bought the second in the series
4.5/5 upon re-read. It’s just so wonderful to read a historical fiction where so much thought and effort was put into making the events of the fictional story weave into the reality of the time so well. It really did seem like these could be real tales of WWI. Also Ethel and Maud are such great female characters.
Fantastic realistic historical fiction - at it's best, truly! Follett is a gem in the genre. I was a bit worried, as I adored the Pillars of the Earth series, that this series would be lackluster, but in fact, I enjoyed it more than I anticipated. Lively characters that you love, hate, and love to hate. Action-packed, suspenseful, great plot development, all the makings of a wonderous read. My only critique was that the war scenes dragged a bit in places, but I anticipate that might be the intent, make the reader feel as the characters did as the war dragged on. A long book, but one that I couldn't put down, waiting to see what would happen to whom and when. Loved it!
This book follows the stories of different characters from different nationalities, coming from different social stracta in the years before, during, and after the First World War. Through their eyes we see the fall of monarchies and empires and the rise of new regimens. I liked the fact that we get those different perspectives and what people from different countries might have felts about what happened. Although it is a large book it never felt boring to me, but then again, nobody can deny Ken Follett is a very skilled writer. I look forward to reading the other two entries in Follett's trilogy of the XX century.
There's not much to say. If you liked Pillars of the Earth, chances are, you'll like this one. Although broader in scope, Follet manages to feature almost everything that happened during these brief years of 1911 - 1924, it is no less captivating. From WW1 to the Bolshevik grab for power and struggle to retain it, Follet succeeds in creating a story that flows, thanks to the characters and his attention to detail. The soldier that dies in the last few minutes of the war and Hitler's first appears as a note in the newspaper concerning the Munich beer hall putsch. It is these little snippets that complete an already great story.
Come una soap
I romanzi storici di Follett hanno, secondo me, evidenti difetti: la scrittura non è raffinatissima, i personaggi obbediscono a un predefinito catalogo di cliché, le ambientazioni non sono errate ma certo sembrano studiate su un sussidiario da scuola media. Insomma, una certa superficialità permea un po’ tutti gli strati della narrazione.
Tuttavia il loro, e cioè il puro intrattenimento da lettura, lo fanno.
La caduta dei giganti non fa eccezione. Se da una parte si sorride per l’improbabilità che cinque famiglie, di paesi lontani ed estrazioni sociali molto differenti, intreccino indissolubilmente le loro storie in mezzo a uno dei peggiori cataclismi storico-sociali dell’umanità (la prima guerra mondiale), dall’altra proprio non si può fare a meno di avanzare nella lettura, e di gran carriera, per scoprire che fine faranno i nostri protagonisti, e anzi come si legheranno ancora di più tra loro. E questo è solo il primo capitolo di una trilogia.
Insomma, se si vuol rimanere più dalle parti di Downton Abbey (che però è scritto meglio…) che de I Buddenbrook, direi che si può fare.
I romanzi storici di Follett hanno, secondo me, evidenti difetti: la scrittura non è raffinatissima, i personaggi obbediscono a un predefinito catalogo di cliché, le ambientazioni non sono errate ma certo sembrano studiate su un sussidiario da scuola media. Insomma, una certa superficialità permea un po’ tutti gli strati della narrazione.
Tuttavia il loro, e cioè il puro intrattenimento da lettura, lo fanno.
La caduta dei giganti non fa eccezione. Se da una parte si sorride per l’improbabilità che cinque famiglie, di paesi lontani ed estrazioni sociali molto differenti, intreccino indissolubilmente le loro storie in mezzo a uno dei peggiori cataclismi storico-sociali dell’umanità (la prima guerra mondiale), dall’altra proprio non si può fare a meno di avanzare nella lettura, e di gran carriera, per scoprire che fine faranno i nostri protagonisti, e anzi come si legheranno ancora di più tra loro. E questo è solo il primo capitolo di una trilogia.
Insomma, se si vuol rimanere più dalle parti di Downton Abbey (che però è scritto meglio…) che de I Buddenbrook, direi che si può fare.
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No